Share YourFavorite Beaches Of The World

"Let's boil all those beaches, our tons of beach photos, right down to our personal all-time favorites."

"Fun challenge," indeed when you live in sun-and-warmth-starved Montreal at the end of December!We asked ourselves, if we had to pick just ten beaches to revisit, which ones would they be?

Out came the photo album, scanning for beach photos (we used the
computer for more recent beach photo searches). Yuki and I remember some better than others, so we pitched in, too, in the
quest for our Top 10 Beaches of the world.

Here's what we came up with (in no particular order, that was impossible)...

Copacabana Beach, Brazil

Copacabana Beach is one of the world's truly great beaches...

Exciting.

Jammed.

Thongs.

My Dad says people are born, raised, get married, have children and do business on the beach.
Rio lives on its beaches.

Of course, this is all coming from secondary sources (A.K.A. my parents!). My memories of this
beach are a little hazy. As you can see in the photo, I was only a year old!

(My Mom made a condition for "beaches eligibility." In order to be eligible to make our
Top 10, we had to have a beach photo with either Yuki or me on it.)

Vancouver, Canada

So you like to ski and swim?

You'll like Vancouver's beaches even more than we do. Vancouver's beaches are minutes out of the
city, within an hour of ski resorts.

Only Yuki skis, though. And she wasn't around yet -- that's me at the age of 18 months.
So what do my Mom and Dad love about Vancouver's beaches?

The photo above says it all.

It was shot in a way that highlights the beach's best attributes... Miles of soft sand that
meets the cool blue ocean that leads to Vancouver's picture-perfect cityscape in the near distance,
the magnificent Rockies set behind it.

Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

Hawaii is one of those places that puts an image in your mind the moment you hear the name.

The picture most people dream up, is this beach, Waikiki Beach. While my parents have been all over all of the Hawaiian islands, Waikiki remains their top beach choice for the buzz, the geography, and the city.

Another city beach, we've walked up and down both Waikiki and downtown Honolulu countless times. My only memory is playing "great white shark" in the ocean -- we always won, of course.

I sure do want to go back "for the first time"...

Rows and rows of dark, green, lush palm trees, combined with the fresh, cool blue of the Pacific makes the
perfect recipe for a tropical vacation.

What I do question however, are the crowds. We've been visiting Anguilla for a good number of years now and
I take the people-free beaches for granted. I forgot that at most beaches you have to share.

However, my parents insist that it's merely a different kind of beach fun. There's only one way to tell for sure!

Venice Beach, California

Venice Beach is the funkiest beach in the world.

The vendors, street-performers, spandex'd rollerbladers and vibrant buildings make Venice Beach the colorful place it is.

Although I was only a few years old in the photo above, I remember this beach well. We returned to Southern California
when I was 12, and rented and rode bikes along that coast.

The people watching is fantastic, it's one big show! This beach provides more
of a spectacle than a slow-paced, lazy beach day.

Although Venice Beach doesn't provide the pleasures of Anguilla beaches, I would jump at an opportunity to return to the madness.
For a day or two.

Nice, France

I only ever remember visiting one Mediterranean beach, and unfortunately it's not
the one above. But my parents sure were enjoying this "best beaches" game.

The beach I remember is Viareggio in Italy, at a slightly older age...

That beach was certainly unlike any beach I had ever remembered seeing.

Unlike Anguilla beaches, Viareggio was packed - and we went on a weekday, in July (before the
Italians take their holiday at the beach).

It was wall-to-wall umbrellas and beach chairs - there
was hardly any room to walk along the shore!

After experiencing this Mediterranean beach I asked my Dad, "are all the beaches in the south of Europe
like this?"

"The beaches in the south of France have their fair share of private cafés, too. There is more
breathing room, but it's still packed compared to Anguilla. "

Daytona, Florida

The Spring Break Beach.

Daytona Beach is one of the most popular beaches with college kids for one reason: it's wide, firm shores.
You can drive and park your car right on the sand!

When I visited, however, I was not in college. I was but seven years old and on my way home from Disney World.

Daytona Beach was once the most famous beach in the world, but meeting Minnie Mouse was the highlight of that trip!
I'll have to return and absorb Daytona's schtick, without the cartoon-character excitement.

Cuyutalan, Mexico

When I was seven years old, my Mom and Dad took my sister and I to Mexico for 5 weeks.
We stayed one week in Mexico City and four in Guadalajara.

Mexico is dry - not many lakes, streams or creeks. But there are two large oceans on either side
of this long, thin country.

Naturally, we decided to venture out of Guadalajara and head to the beach. Cuyutalan is a
Mexican resort, not really for "foreigners." I vaguely remember the experience...
drinking out of coconuts, everyone smiling at us.

And then there was my sister and I splashing in the water... until a sea creature swam up to us to say hello.
It was a stingray! I jumped out of the water so fast my sister's head spun.

"Stingray!" I yelled to my parents.

"Yeah, sure Nori, that's nice."

Finally, my Dad came to see. "Stingray," he yelled.

Outer Banks, North Carolina

For a few years, the Outer Banks, North Carolina was a regular visiting place.

The last time there, I was about six years old and jealous of everyone around me.

So many people were hang-gliding... off the dunes and out and over the Atlantic! Nothing seemed so
liberating and exciting as that. Unfortunately, I was only six years old and couldn't handle those
massive kites on my own.

Although I'm no thrill seeker, to this day I want to feed that six year old in me, and hang-glide.
Naturally, it'd have to be done in North Carolina, the state that introduced me to it!

Provincetown, Cape Cod

I. Love. New England.

The cool, crisp air... the clapboard, shingle-clad houses... never have I seen such quaint towns as in Massachusetts.

My family and I used to visit Cape Cod and Boston twice a year in the off-season. We rarely braved
the cold of the beaches' waters. We simply adored the look, feel and smell... the presence of Cape Cod.

The Harbor Beach in Provincetown was one of our favorites. We'd step out of the inn and onto the cool shore,
walking to town by the "back road" (the beach). The salty, sea smell in our nostrils, ocean air filling our lungs,
we'd feel warm in the sun's rays. We were always a little sad to leave that comfortable feeling.

Hirtles Beach, Nova Scotia

I have lived in Canada all my life, and it wasn't until I was 14 years old that my parents decided to take us
to Nova Scotia. Upon the moment we arrived at our seaside hotel, we all realized we had seriously been missing out all of these years!

Our favorite Nova Scotia beach is Hirtles Beach.
Hirtles is a perfect, two mile, crescent beach of smooth, white sand that faces due south. (It is coincidentally on the same line of longitude as Shoal Bay Beach on Anguilla.)

Although the ocean doesn't get any warmer than a balmy few degrees,
five natural, warm freshwater ponds (small lakes, really) are found right near the beach and are perfect for swimming!

Hirtles Beach, like all Anguilla beaches, is very secluded. Rarely do you see crowds of people on the beach. You tend to
have it, more or less, to yourself. My Dad says, "It's the Cape Cod of the sixties."

We visit Nova Scotia a couple times a year and now, not only love the beach but the entire community as well. To top it all off, we
own land, smack, dab in the middle of the beach!

So, that's it... The top ten beaches!

Except... there has to be one more. The beach of all beaches. Just for good measure...

Our Favorite:Shoal Bay Beach:The Best of All Beaches

We've experienced beaches of all shapes and sizes, but Shoal Bay Beach still gets our vote for #1.

Puerto Escondido Surf
Home to the Mexican Pipeline, Puerto Escondido surf and beaches are world-famous. With several breaks in the area (both those that are widely known and the more secret spots, locally-loved), it's well suited for a surfer at every level. Although known for its waves, with an affordable price tag, a tranquil and safe vibe, and some of the nicest people you will ever meet, the reasons for getting to Puerto and walking its wide stretches of sand are many.

What Is YourFavorite Beach Worldwide?

Beaches worldwide certainly have a hard time matching up to the beauty of Anguilla beaches. But, some are spectacular and do rival some of Anguilla's best beaches. What is your favorite beach outside of Anguilla?

Entering your story about your favorite beach in the world is easy to do. Just type and presto!...

It will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. For example [my story] would show as my story on the Web page containing your story.

TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Crowne Plaza Beach, Muscat, Oman Not rated yetI go there every 2 years.... because the Crowne Plaza has a private beach, you can swim with all privacy and though you see the town of Muscat from the …

Manual Antonio Beach in Costa Rica Not rated yetManuel Antonio Beach is one of the most picturesque beaches I have seen during my travels in Central America.
Located not too far from the small town …

El Nido Resorts Palawan, Philippines Not rated yetEl Nido Resorts Palawan in the Philippines is for me the best beach. I have been there and it really is a tropical paradise (as seen in the picture) which …

Playa de Monsul in Almeria (Spain) Not rated yetMy favorite beach in the world is 'Playa de Monsul'. It is located in the province of Almeria in Southern Spain, in the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata-Nijar. …

Frankston Beach Foreshore Not rated yet
I've lived in Melbourne all my life and visited lots of great southern Victorian beaches over the years. The diverse and ever surprising beaches of Port …

Daytona Beach, Florida Not rated yetYou can drive on the beach!!!
Nori's Reply: One of our favorite beaches worldwide , too. It has been years since our last visit, but it's a real …

La Jolla Shores Not rated yetAlthough La Jolla (California) may not have been my favorite swim spot, the seal rookery is amazing. The fact that the seals have taken over the Childrens …